Police identify Stamford’s first homicide in 18 months as former Knights football player

Police tape is show on Friday near the I-95 overpass at West Avenue in Stamford, Conn., where police say a man was shot to death on Thursday night.

Police tape is show on Friday near the I-95 overpass at West Avenue in Stamford, Conn., where police say a man was shot to death on Thursday night.

Photo: John Nickerson / Hearst Connecticut Media

Photo: John Nickerson / Hearst Connecticut Media

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Police tape is show on Friday near the I-95 overpass at West Avenue in Stamford, Conn., where police say a man was shot to death on Thursday night.

Police tape is show on Friday near the I-95 overpass at West Avenue in Stamford, Conn., where police say a man was shot to death on Thursday night.

Photo: John Nickerson / Hearst Connecticut Media

Police identify Stamford’s first homicide in 18 months as former Knights football player

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STAMFORD — A former co-captain of the Stamford High School football team was shot to death near an I-95 overpass on the West Side, marking the city’s first homicide in 18 months.

Antonio Robinson, 18, who was set to graduate from Stamford Academy in June, was gunned down at West and Baxter avenues on Thursday night just before 9 p.m., Capt. Richard Conklin said Friday. He declined to discuss the circumstances of Robinson’s shooting, or a possible motive.

Robinson, who played for the Knights in the 2016-17 season, was remembered by his football coaches on Friday as a smaller player with a big heart.

“He wasn’t the biggest kid out there, but he played with a lot of heart and soul,” said Knights coach Jamar Greene, who was also Robinson’s 6th-grade reading teacher at Cloonan Middle School. “He gave it everything he got.”

Another Knights football coach, Raul Font, said Robinson had a positive attitude.

“He always had a smile on his face when he came to practice," Font said. “He was very straightforward and always told you how he was doing. He was very respectful and was an awesome, awesome kid.”

During a press conference for National Gun Violence Awareness Day on Friday at the government center, which had been scheduled weeks ago, the crowd held a moment of silence for Robinson.

Mayor David Martin pointed out the irony of the killing taking place the night before National Gun Violence Awareness Day.

“We often take for granted how safe our community has become, but the homicide that occurred yesterday serves as a sad reminder that gun violence can occur anywhere,” he said in a statement. “We must all do our job to keep our city and children safe.”